


L'appel du Vide

by archangelwithashotgun



Series: Tumblr Prompts [28]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sam Winchester, Flying, Human Gabriel, Hurt Gabriel, M/M, One Word Prompts, Powerlessness, Pre-Slash, Sabriel - Freeform, Slash, TW: Jumping, Tumblr Prompt, l'appel du vide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 13:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6806695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archangelwithashotgun/pseuds/archangelwithashotgun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>L'appel du vide (French): The instinctive urge to jump from high places.</p><p>Gabriel just wanted to fly again.</p><p>TW: THIS MAY READ AS A SUICIDE ATTEMPT.</p>
            </blockquote>





	L'appel du Vide

A light scuffing noise echoed in the afternoon air as Gabriel shuffled his feet along the ledge of the power plant overlooking the Bunker, staring down at the faraway ground.

Gabriel didn’t really know what he was doing here to begin with. He had gotten into an argument with Sam a few moments ago, the two of them practically competing to see just who could outshout the other. It resulted in a steel-set jaw and fiery glare from Sam and a seething Gabriel leaving the Bunker, trembling as he climbed the stairs to the outside before jogging toward the power plant and then climbing those stairs as well. And… here he was, the archangel staring out at the vast distance of Lebanon.

Or rather, _former_ archangel.

It had been a two weeks since Sam and Dean found him on the side of the road about a mile out from the Bunker, barely clinging to life. He had managed a tiny smirk past lips overflowing with blood and a weak “Miss me?” before he lost consciousness. He woke up a week later, healed, cold, and human.

The Archangel Gabriel was now just Gabriel. His powers, both trickster and celestial alike, were gone.

He didn’t allow it to bother him to a certain extent. He was fairly confident that somewhere in the troughs of research the Men of Letters had collected was some answer to his predicament. He was fine. At first.

Dean and Cas were annoying with their furrowed brows and sometimes concerned glances, but Gabriel could easily brush those off.

Sam? Sam was _infuriating_.

The younger Winchester had taken it upon himself to try and teach Gabriel how to adapt to human life, and while Gabriel had appreciated the initial sentiment, as the week went by Sam just succeeded in making him feel like a helpless, pitiful fledging with his sympathetic gazes and his careful voice and his “I’m here if you need anything.” He wouldn’t let up at all; Gabriel was feeling extremely suffocated in the large Bunker, and his anger festered and boiled deep within the confines of his chest until it finally punched out of him today after Sam had offered to help him figure out how the shower worked.

Gabriel closed his eyes and released a deep exhale, slowly reopening them to gaze at the ground, seemingly miles down now without his wings.

His wings. They were part of what he lost. Without warning, Gabriel’s eyes began to sting, and he sniffed as he vainly tried to move the lost appendages. They didn’t, and Gabriel clenched his jaw, ferociously fighting down the distress brewing inside him. Optimistic or not, Gabriel’s wings were gone _now_. And damnit, he _missed_ them. Taking in a quivering breath, he stared down at the ground.

Gabriel was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to jump.

The warm breeze of the late afternoon stroked soothingly through his hair, seeping past his jacket collar and wisping against his hands. Maybe… Maybe if he jumped, his wings would save him. Like they did countless times before.

He spared it no more thought. It had to work, it had to. Gabriel sighed with his resolution, stepping right at the edge of the roof, and he slowly closed his eyes.

He let go.

There was a scream, somewhere below him. It was high, it was panicked, and it was muffled. It was also too late, for Gabriel only heard it when he was already halfway down, the ground coming up rapidly to meet him as he fell.

Darkness overwhelmed him.

When he woke up, he felt stiff and a little sore, and Sam’s face was hovering above him, his hazel-green eyes glistening beautifully in the soft glow of the corner lamp. A quick glance around told him that he was in Sam’s room, laid carefully on Sam’s bed, a warm blanket thrown over him. The clock on the nightstand read 9:42PM. It was only hours later.

Gabriel didn’t say anything, but he met Sam’s gaze, gradually realizing with a dull horror that Sam’s eyes were glistening for a reason.

Sam sniffed, reaching out to cup a hand around Gabriel’s cheek. The tension from their last encounter evaporated, Gabriel leaned heavily into the contact, his jaw trembling.

“Castiel caught you right before you met the ground,” Sam whispered, his voice wobbling near the end.

Gabriel sagged lightly, a mixture of relieved and conflicted, and he sighed.

“Can I ask why?” Sam asked, his thumb stroking Gabriel’s cheekbone tenderly.

The former archangel gave a hard, dry swallow. He had to answer honestly; there was no point in half-truths or lies or tricks, and he was too tired for anything else anyway. His mouth thick, he answered in a small whimper, “I just wanted to fly again.”

Sam set his jaw, his throat bobbing, and he nodded in understanding. Definitely not condoning of what Gabriel had done, and Gabriel was fairly certain that the residents of the Bunker would later have words with him about what had happened, but Sam looked like he understood at least.

A small tear flitted down Sam’s cheek, and the hunter leaned over and pressed a long, firm kiss to Gabriel’s forehead. Gabriel eyes fluttered shut at the sweet contact, his heart pulsing warmly.

“We’re going to find something,” Sam murmured against Gabriel’s forehead. “We’ll find something to help you out, to get your powers back. We’ll find something, Gabe, just… Just hold on. Please? I promise you I’ll do my absolutely best to find an answer. Just hold on for me?”

Shuddering lightly, Gabriel gently placed a hand to Sam’s chest, his palm splaying out calmly over Sam’s heart, and he nodded.


End file.
